While this code violation should have been cited well before now, I have to side with the city on this one. What makes the flamingo so special? That it is in Hampden? That it was in the New York Times? Let this sign stay up and you open the door to more and more violations, and some of them could actually be offending.

Those inspectors have basically turned into meter maids who hand out tickets to buildings, instead of cars. The particular inspector just happened to pick the one car - i mean, building - that warranted the most attention.

I am really, really sad to see the Cafe Hon flamingo go, but I kind of agree with the fact that she really should have had to pay the minor privlidge tax. $800 is a lot, but she save $5,600 over the last 7 years that she didn't have to pay the fee, and it's part of the price of doing business. I agree that she should have maybe been given some more time to come up with the money, and the City should have worked with her for the positive PR, but ultimately, there's really no way around the fact that if you start making exceptions to rules, it just makes the next exception harder to say no to, and all of a sudden you have obliterated any chance of enforcing the rule.

The law is the law. She's lucky the city didn't demand $5,600 from the previous 7 years, in addition to the current $800 fee.

Hmmm, I guess maybe the next thing will be for inspectors to give out citations for Holiday Decorations? After all, decorations will also take up public space, especially when they string lights across the street. It's a sad, sad way of trying to fix the budget problems in Baltimore.

It is an $800 application fee, not a yearly fee. We don't know how much the yearly fee would be, probably sig less.

Just another example of as much as we all say we love this city; it just takes a few things to tick us off and then we give up. Well done Cafe Hon, in giving up.

"The law is the law" and "I'm just doing what I'm told." Leading to words like "get on the cattle car" or "get in these showers" are the most dangerous mindsets facing humanity. Inflexibility, extremism, and lack of individual discretion are never a good thing.

Whiting took a real Atlas Shrugged approach to this and in doing so probably brought more ill-will upon the city government than even she imagined. Good for her.

To those who say "it's the cost of doing business, only in a corrupt city it is. As a practical matter the sign was too high to impede any kind of public right of way. Rent is a cost of doing business, supplies, labor, marketing. Corrupt bureaucratic fees are only a cost of doing business in corrupt bureaucracies. Think bigger. Ask the bigger question.

Are you people serious?!?! What is the public right of way? Can anyone exercise discretion anymore?

Just remember, with all of the laws and regulations out there, we are all guilty of something and subject to whatever penalties some nameless inspector/official feels like levying against us.

Whiting should also cease the annual Hon Fest and allow Hampden to return to a faceless, undesirable, and crime-ridden community as the Mayor would much rather see. Dixon knows zilch about community and public relations except when it comes to generating bad publicity. There she exceeds! I guess the city ran out of cars to tow and 2-hr parking limits to impose on all city streets so they have to go after the final thing that brings revenue to an otherwise undesirable place, the small community business owner. Great work Sheila, you are a phenomenal leader and exemplary Mayor, keep up the below mediocre job!

Got to side with the city here. Everybody knows that part of the cost of doing business involves paying pointless fees to the government for the privilege of continuing to do no harm. After all, the law is the law - no matter how pointless, inane, or stupid it is people should respect it and follow it to the letter. Hopefully, the city will be able to recover the $5,600 that this small business owner has stolen from them over the last seven years by avoiding paying this fee.

Revunue is revunue.
I care hear our taxes be jacked even higher after the 2010 elections. Maryland the fleece state!

It just flabbergasts me that the clowns in Baltimore City Gov't. have nothing better to do than harass one of the lovliest little eateries in Baltimore. Are you listening, Mayor Dixon???

How about we bring back the flamingo and rid the city of Dixon?

Nobody--not Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, anyone else--likes this kind of small-minded local government stuff. This is the kind of thing that, I'm sure, makes small business owners crazy.

The yearly fee is $244 according to the TV news show about a bar in Curtis Bay that is taking thier sign down. It has only been there since 1966. This summer they also 'found' the Elvis out in front of "Nacho Mamas". The Department of General Services said it received an anonymous complaint and had to respond. BS. Believe that and you probably believe the red light cameras are for safety.

I can't get vinyl replacement windows for my front street-facing windows because I live in a CHAP historical district. If I can't get vinyl windows, then a huge freaking flamingo should not receive a special exemption, sorry. Hopefully in the future, though, inspectors will be more interested in houses with 20 people in it instead of vinyl windows or pink flamingos. But no special exceptions should be made, if the regular Baltimorean has to follow the letter of the law.

They wont do anything as the flamingo wasn't black

Yeah, in a city that has businesses closing up, leaving empty storefronts all over the place (Harborplace anyone?), you would think the city would make life easier for business owners, not harder.

I know of at least 10 different restaurants that were forced to stop offering al fresco dining because the city wanted their share of the profits from nuisance fees.

Sheila Dixon, I hope you go to jail and think about how you could have made the city better instead of sleeping with rich developers for money (guess what that makes you?).

Brent,

Instead of thinking because you can't get your windows they shouldn't get their flamingo, why not think you should get your windows and they should get their flamingo?

So the pink flamingo is in the "public right of way". I honestly can't remember the last time I saw someone walking through the air surrounding Cafe Hon only to bump into the flamiingo. If as the city says it's in the "public right away", how does paying an $800 yearly fee make it no longer in the "public right of way"? I'd like to see Ms. Whiting make arrangements with her landlord and have a pink flamingo painted on the wall. Oos, the city will find something wrong with that too.

Dont worry. That baby is coming back.

Josh, I would love to have vinyl windows, but I follow the letter of the law so that i can get appropriate storm windows with some sort of historical reference. The avenue exists to get efficient windows, I just have to abide by the process. If she wants a pink flamingo, i would love for her to have a pink flamingo! I think it's great actually. But she's gotta go ahead and apply for approval, just the same as I do.

As far as public rights of way, I have prostitutes on my right of way that I would prefer the city charge $800 to walk on the sidewalks. If they pay the fee, hey do your thing just don't leave behind a mess. If MICA and the new Hopkins building wanna have those ugly colored windows, that's cool. Just pay your $800 and you can put em in there.

I'm disappointed in Denise. Yeah, it's a hassle and a disappointment that the city stuck its nose into this non-issue. But it seems like they gave her plenty of warning, and she refused to budge. Who's won?

I bet if it was a Raven it would still be up there today.

Doesn't anyone like fun?

I am just testing! In theroy those who pay taxes and care will. If not the Sun has decided for us... It has been 3 years. Now we know.

Whiting should have taken Sheila out for a lobster dinner...believe me, it has worked before!

I'ms ad to see the flamingo go, but I think the law in the case does have a reaonable purpose.

If businesses are allowed to put up gigantic signs/artwork/etc without getting approval, the city could start to look like Vegas or Times Square.

What was shocking to me in this story is the fact that the cafe owners put up the gigantic flamingo without ever even thinking about a permit being needed. That's a 'duh' situation to me.

se was acting as if she was doing the right thing.the thing is marylans has a group of alto of old lepole who don't like nem things .QA,Anomals cats dogs any life Anomals it's a eye cather she was only drawing pepole from out of town it's like the irst thing kink on the internet the first hit. I poe she make a Million Dollars in her doings she doing what any los vasgas new yorkers and los angeles person would do she's a martha steward with ot the jail trm that made her more millions of dollars i would come up with somthing $800.00 fee thats crazy they missing the piont ART. I'm a Artist the things i have inmine GO GIRL get somthing ELSE! Like a Charles Manson He's in Jail and making money millions on his books movies and the girl that was in on the crime died last week she's going to make money! wow Maryland it's bad real Bad Keep your Buisness I'll be ther to EAT!!

What a disappointment that a Art object has been removed from the Great street of Baltimore. Perhaps the artist could PAINT it on the side of the Building. Baltimore City Find something real to worry about.

Keep in mind also that the flamingo was literally attached to the fire escape. If anything, she should have to move it for FIRE safety, nevermind the minor privileges permit.

With that said, I think the whole concept of MPPs needs to be rethought. It's the same thing for outdoor seating, which businesses want for extra revenue, and a lot of communities want because it improves public safety. But lots of businesses can't afford the permit fee. I don't see a reason why outdoor seating - or a pink flamingo - should cost money.

Troy Mack,
You rock!

I agree- return the flamingo!!

Mayor Dixon (sic) needs all the money she can get for two trial defenses, plus, it's amazing that the city employees have that much time on their hands to write in this column and make it look like their 'concerned' citizens siding with the city.
LMAO.

Pay the fine and keep it up or don't and take it down per law. The issue is black and white. As another poster suggested, I'm sure a donation jar could have covered some if not all in a matter of days.

This dispute is like a small time, civic bureaucracy version of Stalingrad: it's hard to root for either side, although one is clearly more deplorable than the other, simply due to the larger implications.

The city would be that more deplorable party here. Messing with businesses with a silly, racketeering style law that takes away local color and flavor for a measley $800 fee is beyond stupid. What happened to all that Live Baltimore! stuff and I Love City Life with those obvious benefits of the big city being culture, art, quirkiness...oh woops, we're taxing all those things when they're in the public "right of way" - which apparently includes any space people can bungee jump off the top of a building through.

However the clear winner here was Denise Whiting at Cafe Hon, who has milked this for all the publicity she can get and will probably milk it some more with a continued fight to bring the bird back. (Did anyone hear Whiting on Marc Steiner yesterday when all she had to say about the New York Times article on Baltimore was that she didn't get a mention in it - and this before going on to call the defunct Flamingo an icon so many times you would've thought she was talking about the Eiffel Tower.) Paying the fee would have put the issue to rest and robbed Ms. Whiting of her current martyr status. Bear in mind, Whiting had no qualms charging merchants on The Avenue a fee this past summer to sell goods in front of their own shops during HonFest - a minor racket that would make the crime family presiding over the San Gennaro festival in NYC's Little Italy proud.

However there are non-annoying merchants (many of whom make edible food and don''t feature a corny gift shop in the front of their restaurants) throughout the city who this silly law could hurt. It's these people and their creativity that should be thought of in regards to this ordinance that needs to be modified.

does the flying spaghetti monster 'sculpture' in hampden also have to pay? I guess it's a bit different since I believe it maybe 'extrudes' into a private parking lot

Were the authorities so 'busy' citing other offenders, they just couldn't 'get to hers' until they had a complaint? That's a fair amount of time to be 'busy', in my opinion.

Many still want to know about 34th St. and their "holiday decorations" that traverse an entire city block . . . permit FEE or . . . FREE PASS?

Also, didn't some 'artists' recently cover a tree on a Hampden street with knitting? How kitchy! I'm sure the tree LOVES it. Anyway, does that need a permit also? City owned tree, city sidewalk, city tree-well . . .

I wonder how many of our outraged friends from the suburbs would still back the Cafe Hon and their bird if the area it was in wasn't so trendy?

Maybe someone should walk the streets of Hampden in a pink flamingo costume (a la big bird). Let's see how many jaywalking tickets he or she gets.

Cafe Hon is a positive landmark for the city of Baltimore. There has been an entire summer festival dedicated to the big pink flamingo that brings in considerable revenue to businesses in the area. The flamingo should stay and be considered ART! It's not just some silly sign to be taxed. The Flamingo brings in more money by staying. Do you think the city took that into consideration? NO. Thanks Sheila for promoting tourism in Baltimore. You must think people would rather come to Baltimore to see the shootings and gang violence?

Count me among those sorry to see the Cafe Hon flamingo downed. My first thought was to imagine the city hall in Florence charging itself a fee to keep that OTHER great aspirational work, Michelangelo's David, out front! It seems to me that the pink flamingo of Hamden, like its thousands of plastic, yard-dwelling cousins the continent over, sparks more emotion than one might expect because on some level they all speak to a basic longing for a place of warmth, ease, and acceptance. Are there other closet-plastic flamingo owners out there? Is it time for a show of solidarity?

I'm wondering if our Mayor, who stole from the poor, realizes that this is another strike against her if she plans to run for office again. A prosperous neighborhood brings in big taxes for the city and the cost of the $800 to the thousands that the city will now lose over this is a no brainer. I wonder how the firemen and policemen feel knowing that she threw away money that could save them from cut backs in their budgets. Advertising from New York brings New York people here-to spend money. Great job Mayor!